By Melissa Connerton
Within the competitive, challenging food category, the products that make up General Mills’ portfolio are truly household names – Cheerios, YoPlait, Haagen-Daas, Betty Crocker and many more. CMO Mark Addicks began by sharing his formula for growing brands, noting that “the magic isn’t the formula but how you practice it.” A successful formula requires understanding three key areas: developing strong leadership; utilizing marketing scale; and creating and leveraging a community.
At the center of these, according to Addicks, is a thoughtful, thorough understanding of the “brand champion” – who are you trying to reach? What are the wants and needs of the brand champion? What drives the brand champion to act? Once these questions are asked, insights can be developed, and that’s where real ideas come from.
Addicks believes that “your brand champion will tell you where the brand can go and can help you make it aspirational. Don’t just look at their behavior – use this behavior to look forward.”
He shared several examples of some of General Mills’ brand champions, from the ten-year-old boy who loves Lucky Charms to the YoPlait-eating woman balancing her roles of business person, wife and mother. Addicks cautioned that only after the brand champion is determined should the design and method for reaching the consumer be planned, whether it’s through sampling and coupons or YouTube.
According to Addicks, it’s no longer just about reach and efficiency but how many people the company needs to convert. Start by asking how many households you need to buy into your product to make it successful. Once that’s determined, scale efforts to that objective to meet your goal. As an example, he talked about the aspirational “Where is your Nature Valley?” campaign for their Nature Valley trail mix bars, which encouraged consumers to think about their own special place – their “nature valley.” The campaign was brought to life through several channels, including print, online and finally TV spots.
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